Glass and Roses
by bitterending
Summary: One unintended night of too much to drinking leaves Devi pregnant. After promising Tenna, she tells the father the news, but warns him to stay away from her and her child. Will she change her mind?
1. Prologue

Glass and Roses

DISCLAIMER: I do not own JTHM or any of its characters. I do not own Jhonen Vasquez. I do not own anything.

PROLOGUE

Devi sat quietly on the edge of her tub, her head in her hands. "How could I let this happen?" She whispered to herself, tossing a fearful glance at the sink as if it were scheduled to explode. She leaned back against the purple and black tile on her shower wall and sighed to herself.

"I knew this was a mistake...I knew I should have just gone home..." Tears began to seep from Devi's deep green eyes. "What now?" She asked herself harshly, cursing busily to herself. She knew she sounded crazy, but she didn't care. She pounded angrily at the porcelain edge until her hand was purple with bruises.

"I HATE YOU!" She shouted, not knowing exactly whom she was shouting to. Whose fault was this anyway? It wasn't hers exactly-it took two people to get into this mess, but it wasn't all his either after all, he had no idea how smashed she was-she'd learned to stay amazingly steady while intoxicated, besides, it's not like he was sober. Maybe it was fate's fault. But fate wasn't a person, and she needed someone to blame. Maybe the bartender for letting her drink so much? But he was just doing his job. Secondly, he wasn't here.

Settling her anger on the bathtub again, she slammed her sharp-toed boot into it until she heard a satisfying crack. She'd lost all feeling in her foot long before, and wasn't exactly sure if the crack came from the tub or not-but by that time, it didn't matter anymore.

A soft ding filled the bathroom with a lot more power than was expected. Devi jumped and stared at the sink worriedly. She wished it could come to her-she didn't think her jelly-like legs would support her. Devi swallowed and stepped over to the sink, plucking up the tiny stick from the small plastic saucer and staring at it.

A small blue plus sign stared back at her. She dropped the stick with a clatter and fell to her knees. "Oh god...oh god! What am I supposed to do?" She tried desperately to compose herself, getting shakily to her feet and throwing the little stick away. "I'll do it again...these things aren't always right..." She muttered, rushing to the cardboard box to pull out the second test. They always came with two.

After five boxes, Devi was faced with the facts. She was pregnant. But that wasn't that bad, was it? She could handle this-it wasn't like she was a teenager anymore. She should know how to take care of a child by now anyway. A lot of her friends were married with babies by this time. Well, except for Tenna-but that was a completely different story.

A loud obnoxious ringing pulled Devi from her thoughts. She glanced over to see her phone vibrating loudly in its holder. For a long time she watched it, as if she'd never seen a phone before and wanted to see what it would do. After it rang six times, the answering machine picked up the sound of a click. The person on the other line obviously had no time to leave a message.

Before long, the phone began to ring again. Again, Devi turned around to watch it for a moment-until she realized exactly what was happening. She rushed over and picked up the phone from its cradle whispered softly into the receiver, "he-hello?" Instead of saying some sort of greeting back, immediately the voice launched into a personal question it wanted an answer from.

"Well," Tenna bellowed, "are you?" Devi swallowed. She was silent for a minute. "Devi, you still there?" Devi sighed.

She nodded before realizing Tenna couldn't see her. "Yeah."

"Well, are you or are you not?" Tenna asked again, trying hard to sound patient and not nervous like she really was.

Devi managed to choke out a soft answer. "Yeah." She repeated, obviously preoccupied.

Tenna gasped, not noticing the far-away sound of her best friend's voice. "Oh my god." For once she was being serious. "You're pregnant? Seriously?"

Again Devi nodded before answering reluctantly, "Yeah."

"So..." Tenna tried to start a conversation, but neither of them was really listening, anyway.

Devi coughed up a sentence to break the silence. "I gotta go."

But Tenna wouldn't let her hang up. "You're going to call him, right? To tell him?"

Devi gulped. She was afraid of this. "Call who?" She asked blankly, purposely stalling for time.

"Who else, Devi?"

Devi shut her eyes and seethed. "I dunno...you're never usually with the subject..." She was telling the truth, after all, Tenna was diagnosed with ADHD as a kid and never exactly grew out of it.

"Well, I'm able to stay on subject here. This is really serious. Anyway, I meant the father. Aren't you going to call the father?" She said this last word angrily, as if it were an annoying little brother that scared all of her friends away.

Devi felt her blood boil slightly at that term. "Why the fuck would I call Johnny?"


	2. Chapter I

Glass and Roses

DISCLAIMER: I do not own JTHM or any of its characters. I do not own Jhonen Vasquez. I do not own anything.

CHAPTER I

"You know, Devi, you can't hide forever. Sooner or later you're going to have to tell him he has a son. Sooner rather than later." It had been two months since Devi had her baby, Bryker. At the moment, Bryker, a pale faced little boy with a tuft of dark purple hair, was curled up in his mother's arms asleep while his mother sat in a window booth at Taco Smell with Tenna.

"I'm not gonna have to tell him, Ten. I'm never gonna see him again."

Tenna was shaking her head, and taking the sleeping boy from his mother to rock him herself. "You can't be sure of that. What if one day he finds him? He'll be mad at you. You know what Johnny does when he's mad, or did you forget?"

Devi shivered. "I wish." She muttered under her breath, taking her son back and shooting Tenna a glare that meant 'at least ask my permission before taking my baby'.

"I'd call him, D." Tenna continued, fiddling absentmindedly with a saltshaker.

"You would?" Devi shot, clutching Bryker to her protectively.

Tenna sighed. "Well, not-I mean, if I were in your situation, ya know?" Devi's mouth twitched.

"Alright. I'll tell him." She gave in, "...Later." She added as an afterthought.

Tenna groaned, getting up from her seat. She knew that the whole subject was hopeless. It took Devi months to leave the house after her murderous date with Johnny. Telling him he had a baby boy had to be hard. "See you later, D..." She muttered, leaving half of the bill on the table and walking out the door.

Devi dug in her purse to finish off the bill and went home. Looking down at Bryker's innocent toothless baby smile, she whispered, "God, I hope Ten's right..."

Devi walked tiredly into her house, setting her keys on the counter and tucking Bryker in for a nap before dialing the eerily familiar number into her telephone, her fingers shaking so wildly she worried she would dial incorrectly.

"Hello?" A dark voice answered the call hurriedly, as if it were interrupted.

"Hello, Johnny. Are you busy? We need to talk." Dead silence greeted Devi's voice, making her last few words echo slightly into the receiver. She cleared her throat uneasily. "Erm...Nny?"

"Yeah...yeah. I'm here. Could you hold on one moment?" There was the clunk of him setting down the phone on the table. With little strain, Devi could hear what was happening on the other side of the line.

"I really need to take this call. You understand, don't you?" Devi wondered whom he could possibly be talking to.

An unfamiliar voice answered him. "Does this mean you'll let me go?" A could laugh erupted, obviously from Johnny.

"No, no..." He responded, laughter still in his voice, "I'm just gonna have to kill you faster." There was a shrill scream and the sound of a blade slicing through flesh. The scream died instantly. Devi's eyes widened as she heard the soft tap of the receiver being picked back up off of the table.

"Devi? You still there?" Johnny's voice sounded cheerful now, as if he'd just played tug-a-war with his new puppy instead of cutting the head off of a stranger.

Devi swallowed. "Uh-huh..." She answered slowly, contemplating weather or not this was a good idea. "You know, maybe this isn't the best time..."

"Nonsense." Johnny pish-hawed, "I have loads of time freed up now..."

Devi was no idiot. She knew what that meant. She took a deep breath. It was now or never. "You erm...you remember that night about a year ago..." She could almost hear Johnny smiling at this.

"How could I forget?"

Feeling the need to protect her dignity, she exploded, "I was drunk, Nny, don't read too much into it." Broken memories of the night flashed through her mind, giving her a stabbing headache.

There was a snicker from Johnny, but Devi ignored it with effort. "I was too...doesn't mean too much. ...Is that all you wanted to tell me?" he muttered, sounding frighteningly exuberant.

Devi took another shaky breath. She did not want to do this. She could still hang up the phone. He'd take it as a yes and she'd never have to talk to him again. But she couldn't do that. She knew she'd have to do it, sooner rather than later. "N-no..." She stammered. Another evil giggle went ignored. Sooner rather than later, she reminded herself.

"You-you made me pregnant."

There was no sound on the other end for a long time. Devi readied herself for another hideous cackle, but it never came. The silence was crushing her. She was begging for some sign of him still listening, but the line was as good as dead.

Suddenly there was a loud clatter in her ear. He had dropped the phone. "Nny?" She asked tentatively, There was no answer. Not like she was really expecting one. "Johnny? Johnny, are you still there?" After a few minutes without a reply, she placed the phone in it's cradle and turned on the television. "So much for that..." She grumbled under her breath.

In the middle of Devi's favorite show, The Happy Bunny, a knock was hammered against her front door. She answered it to find a tall thin man staring at her, his long trench coat pulled up to his nose. "J-Johnny?" she gulped, moving to shut the door in his face, but he placed a violent looking boot in her way.

"Are you okay?" He asked bluntly, skipping over the usual greeting policy of 'hello, long time no see.' Devi blinked.

"I was." She muttered pointedly.

Johnny was either oblivious or just ignored her tone. "I'm so sorry." His monotone voice scared her. He never sounded so...sane.

"Erm..." Devi tried to unearth some from of words, but only drew up a blank. Johnny took a step forward, Devi stumbled back. Johnny looked away ashamedly and let out a deep sigh. "

I really am sorry, Devi..." He told his feet with uncharacteristic sincerity. Afraid to look up, he continued, "May I see it?" Devi narrowed her eyes.

"It is a two month old boy. And you stay the fuck away from him. Him and me." Johnny's downcast eyes squeezed shut. That had hit him hard, Devi knew it. Despite herself, she felt a sharp pang of guilt. Johnny sensed this and looked her in the face.

"I better go." He coughed, aware that his sane composure was quickly fleeting. He reached over and briefly touched her hand before he turned away, racing down her porch steps and flying over the pavement. As if on cue, he pulled a shimmering blade out of his coat. He may have kept himself from murdering Devi, but the next person to cross his path would be a bloody photograph on the 9:00 am news.

Devi shut the door quietly and stood, watching the outside world sleep through the oval window that was set in the solid oak. After looking over her hand for a moment, as if he'd implanted a bomb in it, she fell into a restless slumber on the couch.

Around three in the morning, Devi was woken by a series of loud, short- breathed sobs. She hoped off of the couch and flew into Bryker's room to rock him back to sleep. Strangely, he stopped crying almost immediately, falling quickly into the sleep that usually took him forever to get to.

When she looked up to see out of Bryker's bedroom window, her heart stopped. There, perched on the windowsill like a watchful owl, was a fat plastic doll, holding a burger over his head with one cubby hand. Under its huge toothy grin, a handwritten note was taped.

_Happy belated birthday, Bryker D._

Johnny 

Devi swallowed, fear pulsing through her at one million miles an hour. "How does he know his name?" She choked finally, feeling panicky tears well up in her eyes. "HOW THE HELL DID YOU LEARN HIS NAME?" She screamed out the window, groping at the burger boy and holding it up to the light.

As she held it above her head, ready to shatter it against the floor, a very unexpected thought flickered through her mind.

Don't smash it. Keep it. Keep it for Bryker.

As much as she tried to shake the thought from her head, it wouldn't go away. Giving in to it, she set the ghostly doll down on Bryker's toy chest and turned to leave. She stopped abruptly. A new thought ran through her mind, and she scooped Bryker in her arms before going back to sleep in her own, windowless room.


	3. Chapter II

Glass and Roses

DISCLAIMER: I do not own JTHM or any of its characters. I do not own Jhonen Vasquez. I do not own anything.

CHAPTER II

"Mama...are you awake?" Devi groaned and rolled over, opening her bleary eyes to see a five-year-old purple haired version of Johnny C watching her intently.

"Jesus, Bryke. What time is it?"

Bryker looked quickly at the digital watch on his thin pale wrist. "1:30."

Devi shot up in a sitting position, throwing her small son off of her shoulder. "IN THE AFTERNOON?" She screamed, turning to see what was wrong with her alarm.

"No, mama. In the morning." It wasn't sarcasm. He was serious.

"Bryke, baby, you gotta break this habit of waking me up when you can't sleep..." Devi snapped exasperatedly, lying back onto her pillows.

Bryker shook his head. "I can never sleep, mama..." He sighed.

"That's exactly why you have to break the habit." His mother grumbled.

"But mama...there's a man outside my window." Devi leapt out of bed before he'd completely finished his sentence, slamming the door to his room against the wall and glaring out the window. The small silhouette of a figure running down the alleyway was barely visible in the weak street lamps.

"Christ! Bryker, can you tell me what he looked like?"

Bryker shook his head. "Not really. He was wearing a big long coat." Devi took his hand. "Come stay in my room, okay?" She whispered, "I don't feel as if you're safe in here." Bryker nodded, snatching his most prized possession from off his toy box before following his mother into her room.

"Why do you love that damn burger boy so much?" She mumbled, more to herself than Bryker, who, every time upon being asked, would answer the same thing.

"He's my friend." Her son asserted, clutching to the plastic doll tighter, as if he thought Devi would take it right from under him.

His mother shook her head. "Bryke...that's not a friend. Friends carry on conversations-"

"He talks to me." Bryker said defensively, as if this were normal.

Devi blinked. "He does?" her voice trembled slightly.

Bryker nodded. "He gives me lots of advice. He tells me he knows where daddy is."

"Nny? What are you doing?"

Devi shook the memory from her skull and looked down at her son. "He tells you where your dad is?" A tremor of fear danced on her tongue.

Bryker nodded his head again. "Yeah, he says I should go find-"

"NO!" Devi exploded, ripping the toy from her son's hands. Bryker opened his mouth to object, but Devi was still shouting at the top of her lungs. "YOU DON'T LISTEN TO HIM! GOT IT? DON'T TALK TO THIS THING ANYMORE!" Bryker didn't speak. "DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME?"

The young boy's eyes grew wet with tears, but he looked down at his feet and whispered, "Yes, mama."

Immediately, Devi felt as if she'd overreacted. "Look, I'm sorry, Bryke..." She muttered, handing the burger boy back to him, "I didn't mean..." Bryker was too content with having his toy back to listen to her. He grabbed a few pillows and a roll of blankets and curled up on the floor of his mother's bedroom.

"Hon, you know, the bed's big enough for-" but her son was shaking his head.

"I don't wanna. It's fun sleeping on the floor. Like at camp!"

Devi rolled her eyes. "Whatever..." She muttered, snuggling into her sheets and falling asleep.

"Devi?" Devi turned around at the sound of a familiar voice. A tall young man with dark hair and tall boots was looking at her purposefully. He smiled slightly when she said hello calmly back. "You're not...afraid of me?" He asked tentatively, taking a cautious step forward. Devi shook her head. She tried to think of why she was supposed to be afraid of this guy, but she was so plastered she couldn't even remember her last name.

The man smiled wider, revealing a long row of brilliantly white teeth. He ordered a drink and asked if he could buy her one. She turned it down, but only because she felt one more sip of alcohol and she'd wake up the next morning in a pool of her own vomit.

She somehow found out that the man's name was Johnny, which sent a trigger in her brain, but she couldn't realize if it was good or bad. They talked politely for a while, and Devi was beginning to like this somewhat familiar stranger in a more than platonic way-which didn't seem to bother Johnny at all.

After Johnny had a few more drinks, Devi asked if he'd like to walk home with her. He agreed wholeheartedly, unable to hold his liquor as well as she could, mentioning he'd walked there anyway and was glad to have some company on his way back home. They walked the long way to her apartment, which she was shocked he already knew the way to.

When he'd walked her to the door, she asked if he'd like to come up. His smile, which was already big enough for the Cheshire cat to be outshone, grew wider. "Seriously?" He asked her, as if making sure she wasn't going to jump up and scream, "No you insane fuck! Go burn in hell!"

They walked quietly inside. Her roommate, Tenna wasn't home yet, and left a note on the fridge stating she shouldn't be expected back till around noon the next day because of the all-nighter she was invited to. It didn't exactly bother them about her absence, to say the least.

Johnny started, warily, with a peck on the lips. Devi grabbed his neck and pulled him closer, letting her tongue lash into his mouth.

In shock, Johnny pulled away. Devi pouted slightly. She unmistakably wanted to continue the kiss as long as possible. "I...I'm sorry..." he muttered to himself, "I wasn't expecting-" Devi cut him off, obviously uninterested in the conversation and ready to get back to kissing.

Johnny tried his hardest to pull back again, knowing it was wrong, but the sense was slowly fading from his grasp, gone with the few too many drinks he'd had just moments before. He tried to get it back if only for a moment. But the feel of her fingers running up his neck and into his hair-a feeling that he'd always avoided because of his usual hatred of being touched-strangely enough gave him a pleasurable chill that sent him melting onto Devi's bed.

Devi leapt from the bed with a quiet yelp. She looked down at the floor to see Bryker murmuring to himself, not taking notice of his mother's wakefulness. She heard something about Sketti-Os as she got out of bed and silently dressed herself. She still seemed unnoticed by Bryker.

Her heart was pounding. This was the worst idea she'd ever had in her life. Leaving her five-year-old son alone? She couldn't do that. She had to take him. No, she couldn't take him! What was she thinking? She looked tiredly at her clock. 2:30am. Who did she know that would be awake at this time?

She reached for the phone, hoping her old roommate wasn't sleeping. "Tenna? Hey, what's up?"

"I'm watching the Insomniac's Special on MTV. It's pretty awful, but these things always are a scream to make fun of-and Spooky loves it!" Devi heard the faint squeak of the old bedraggled doll on the other line.

"Er...yeah, listen, Ten, I need a favor." Devi choked.

"I'll be there in five." Tenna mumbled. Devi blinked, and Tenna giggled. "You want me to watch Bryke, right?"

Devi smiled. "Yeah. You finally learned something, Ten. Good work."


	4. Chapter III

Glass and Roses

DISCLAIMER: I do not own JTHM or any of its characters. I do not own Jhonen Vasquez. I do not own anything.

CHAPTER III

About five minutes later, the doorbell rang, bringing Devi rushing over to her friend and ushering her into the bedroom. "Now, you need to sleep here- keep a watch on him while you're awake and-why the fuck are you smiling at me like that?"

"You're such a mother."

Devi raised an eyebrow. "I'm...oh fuck you."

Tenna continued to grin at her. "You've gone to find him, haven't you? Oh, this is so cute! You had the dream again!" Devi cringed.

"I liked you better when you oblivious to everything." She growled. The faint light's reflection flickered off of Tenna's bright white teeth. Devi narrowed her eyes and spun on her heel. "Just watch the kid, bitch." She grunted playfully, snagging her jacket off of the coat hanger in the hall and marched out the door. She walked out onto the pavement, searching first around the house, as if thinking he was waiting for her or Bryker to venture outside.

"Johnny?" Devi whispered. Receiving no reply, she simply continued forward, looking in places she'd figure he'd be-besides his house, which she wanted desperately to avoid. She combed through the 24/7 and even asked around the mental institute, but no one had seen a tall dark haired man in a trench coat that night.

At around six, Devi realized she had no choice. She stalked down to the darkest street in the neighborhood. She didn't need to read the street signs. She knew this was it. She continued walking until she was at the door of 777, right next to the tiny child snuggling a teddy and a crowbar, sprawled out on his roof. She looked away. Willing herself not to think about what a weird neighborhood this was. She looked back at Johnny's beaten down shack. To her horror, the lights were on. He was not only home, he was awake.

Carefully, Devi knocked at the door. She started out quiet, half of her wishing that he'd just go to bed and not answer the door. The lights inside went out immediately. She ducked away from the window when she saw a pair of eyes peek past the lopsided wooden boards he used as makeshift mini blinds.

The moment they'd slipped away, yellow light filled the room again and she heard Johnny's trembling voice speaking to someone unseen. "Oh god. It's Devi. I haven't seen her in almost six years! What do I say to her? What do you think she wants?"

The same voice answered, only this time it was cold as if he were suddenly possessed by something. "Kill her?" The cold variation whispered hopefully. Devi swallowed worriedly. Johnny's voice had changed again.

Now it was sharp-almost as evil as the one before it, only this time it didn't seem so dominant. "Remember, D-boy, That didn't blow over so well last time. She kicked the shit out of him and ran off. She'll kill you if you try it again, you better just not answer the door. Wait until she leaves, then we could go kill defenseless people!"

Devi ventured to look through at the shadows in the window. Johnny was alone, facing two short statues that looked an awful lot like Pillsbury Doughboys. Devi raised an eyebrow. What the hell was going on? She watched, confused, as Johnny turned his head to look at a figure she hadn't noticed before. She cringed when she realized it was a small limp rabbit nailed to a post. She hoped it was stuffed.

Johnny was speaking again, in a softer, calmer voice this time. "Answer the door! You can't just leave her out there Johnny! You still love her, you know you do! Go out there and apologize for everything you'd ever done to her and hope she forgives you!"

Devi didn't know whether to be flattered or extremely afraid. She waited on the porch when she heard Johnny murmur in his own, normal voice, "I'm taking Nailbunny's advice. You guys are fucking assholes." The door opened and Johnny smiled at her weakly, as if he expected her to bite his head right off his neck. Devi wanted to tell him the feeling was mutual, but bit her tongue.

"Hullo." Johnny said uncomfortably.

Devi nodded at him. "I came here to talk...with you." She added uncertainly, pointing at his chest and making sure it wasn't of his other strange new personalities. Johnny raised an eyebrow and nodded.

"Sure..." He muttered, stepping aside to let Devi in. Devi stepped gingerly inside, tossing an anxious glance at the Styrofoam doughboys and dead bunny (which, at one time, was alive, much to Devi's disgust) before sitting on the drooping couch. "Erm...sorry about leaving you out there...I had to-put something away."

Devi tried not to think about the interesting conversation she'd overheard. "Yeah, don't worry, that's fine. Listen, I really need to talk to you about Bryke...er. Bryker." For some reason she didn't seem comfortable telling Johnny their son's nickname.

Johnny nodded uneasily. "Yeah, okay...what about him?"

"That fucking doll you gave him is talking...to..." She stopped and stared at the doughboys. "Oh my god!" She shouted, jumping to her feet and backing away. "It's one of those goddamn freaks, isn't it?" She barked, throwing a hand in the general direction of the odd collection.

Johnny looked confusedly at the doughboys and back at Devi. "Bub's Burger Boy isn't a doughboy..." He muttered vaguely, his face asking where this was going.

"No it...I heard you talking for them!"

Johnny made a face. "For them? Do you mean t-I don't know what you're talking about..."

Devi shook her head. "No, Johnny, for. I meant for."

Johnny blinked. "No..." He whispered to himself, "Not...IT'S NOT ME! IT CAN'T BE ME! IT'S NOT ME!" He suddenly burst, flying over to the dolls and throwing them against the wall. One of them hit the wall hard enough to crack the head off along with a brief shower of small white chunks.

As Devi scooted towards the door, Johnny let out a cold wail that sounded exactly like the voice he'd first spoken before falling to his knees on the floor. "J-Johnny?" Devi asked softly, not wanting him to scream again.

He didn't move.

"Erm...Johnny? Are you okay?"

Silence.

"Johnny?"

Devi was worried now. He wasn't even blinking. "Johnny? Are you..." She thought of saying 'alive', but quickly revised it to, "...awake?" No answer. She took a step toward him. "Er...Johnny?" Still nothing. Devi debated weather to leave or help him back to consciousness.

"C'mon, Johnny. This isn't funny." She poked at him lightly with a nearby floor lamp. He slumped, but there was no other reaction. "Oh God! He killed himself! Some...how...JOHNNY?" Without thinking she went up to him and shook him. Of course she hated him. Of course she wanted him dead-but not now...not with her in the room..." Johnny? Hello? You can't just..." Her voice trailed off as she noticed him breathing.

"So now what...are you just unconscious? What the fuck is going on?" Suddenly Johnny blinked his eyes for a second and let his lips part in question. There was a moment of shocked silence as they both considered the position each of them were in, and then, in unison, they screamed-thinking completely different things and flying back from each other.

"You tricked me!" Devi shouted, glaring at Johnny who looked generally confused. She guessed he was back to himself again.

"What happened?" He asked, looking around him as if expecting an answer to jump from the shadows. Devi's tensed shoulders loosened slightly.

"You...were you really..." Devi struggled to find the words. "I don't know." She answered truthfully, "One minute, you were throwing a fit-the next you were unconscious."

Johnny looked at her quizzically. "What do you mean?" Devi pointed at the broken Styrofoam statue on the floor. Johnny looked at it-silent for almost ten minutes before finally whispering, "D-boy?" He asked weakly, looking worriedly at the other doughboy and then the nailed rabbit. "He's...he's gone?"

"Johnny..."

"HE'S GONE! OH MY GOD! HE'S-"

"JOHNNY!"

Johnny, whose arms were lifted above his head in triumph, looked sideways at Devi, his cheeks pink with embarrassment. "Erm...yeah...I didn't like him much..." He tried to explain, but Devi wasn't listening.

"Look, Johnny, we really need to talk about my son." Johnny flinched. He mumbled something incoherently under his breath, looking sadly at the floor. "What?" Devi asked, a little harsher than she meant.

"Last time I checked, he was partly my son, too." He mumbled slightly clearer, still watching his boots. Devi felt a bolt of anger shoot down her back.

"I'm the only one raising him!"

"You won't allow me to see him."

"YOU'LL KILL HIM!"

"I'M A BETTER FATHER TO TODD THAN HIS OWN GODDAMN DAD!"

There was a silence then. It was deafening, slicing through Devi's heart like one of Johnny's favorite blades. Devi looked at her own feet. "Todd is...the kid next door, right?" Johnny seemed a little uncomfortable with this subject-as if he didn't really mean to bring it up. "What's wrong with his real parents?" Johnny was quiet, standing as still as could be thought possible.

"What do they do, Johnny? Is it what your parents did to you?"

"MY PARENTS NEVER DID ANYTHING TO ME!"

"Really? I saw the scars that night, Johnny. I remember them very vividly. You couldn't have made those yourself. They were all down your back."

"MY PARENTS DIDN'T BEAT ME!"

Johnny was screaming at the top of his lungs, his fists clenched. Anyone could tell he was lying. "Johnny...why do you like Todd so much?" Johnny fell silent again. "Is it because he reminds you of yourself before...?"

Johnny's mouth twitched. "We're getting off the subject of Bryker." He hissed, willing himself not to look Devi in the face.

Devi watched him for a minute. She decided not to mention Johnny's parents again. "I love him very much, Nny. He means everything to me." Johnny said nothing. He prepared himself for a point. "He reminds me of why I loved you in the first place...he's very intelligent, and talkative-and he's got your sensitivity." Johnny remained silent. "But...that thing you gave him...it talks to him."

Johnny looked up at this. "It...what?"

Devi narrowed her eyes. "Did it talk to you? Like those...things?" She waved at the doughboys and Nailbunny obscurely. Johnny nodded, dumbstruck. Devi sighed. "He's you, Johnny...or..." She looked off to the left wall of the house. "He's just like Todd."

Johnny smirked at that. "So...I have to take your word for it...I mean, I can never see him, right?" Devi sighed. Without answering, she walked out of the house and started down the street. She reached the end of the street before she turned around.

"You coming?" She shouted back somewhat irritably. Johnny grinned, despite himself, and bounded down the porch steps. Devi waited patiently as he caught up to her. As he reached where she stood, she launched into a list of boundaries.

"Don't tell him who you are. He..." Her voice trailed off as she looked Johnny in the face, "Oh god. Who am I kidding...he'll know. He's a fucking mirror image of you." Johnny let a smile play at his lips at the sound of that. Disgruntled, Devi added, "He has my hair." This didn't seem to phase Johnny much, who continued to grin out into space. "Anyway, just let me handle the introduction, okay?"

Johnny snapped back to reality and nodded. As if she was reciting a stream of consciousness, continued, "Get rid of all your weapons." Johnny stared at her wide-eyed. "Now." Devi ordered, pointing to the ground for emphasis. With a groan, Johnny drained his pockets of various-sized switchblades and a few heavy lead objects. Devi continued to watch him pointedly.

With another sigh, Johnny sat sprawled on the ground and ripped off his boots, shaking them empty of small blades and daggers. Devi raised an eyebrow. "And?" Johnny rolled his eyes and stripped his coat off his shoulders. Giving it a violent flap, a rain of sharp steel instruments clinked nosily to the pavement.

After his trench coat was empty, he pulled it back on and looked at her, seemingly done.

"Uh-uh." Devi shook her head. Johnny grinned at her and rolled up the legs of his pants. Unbuckling the holsters around his ankles and calves, a wide variety of scalpels and knives dropped heavily to the ground among the others.

Devi looked him over, making sure she'd covered every possible hiding spot. After a moment of uncertainty, she gathered enough bravery to ask him the rather personal question about weather there were any in his boxers. She received a rather funny look in response. "Oh...kay. Lets go."

As they walked to her house, she went over the rest of the rules. "...and don't talk about murder or any of the unnatural things you find...exhilarating. He's only five-years-old, I mean..." Johnny, who'd tuned out ages ago, scanned the streets for her address, which he'd remembered from sixty-two months ago.

As she started up on a rule about his boots, he interrupted, "Oh look...your house." And spun on his heel to sit patiently on the porch as Devi crept nervously over, as if it were the haunted house from all her childhood nightmares instead of the one she'd lived in for almost six years.

Upon reaching the front steps, she turned to him, her house keys clutched in her hand. "Don't talk about those...things...at your house...it'll just...with the burger boy and all..." Johnny nodded.

"Okay, okay." He snapped under his breath. He was getting a little impatient. He'd wished he'd at least sneaked a switchblade back into his pocket as a security. He was feeling very apprehensive at the moment and Devi pointing out everything wrong with him was not exactly helping.


	5. Chapter IV

Glass and Roses

DISCLAIMER: I do not own JTHM or any of its characters. I do not own Jhonen Vasquez. I do not own anything.

CHAPTER IV

Devi slipped the key in and opened the door. "Tenna? I'm back..." There was a squeak, and Tenna's dark face appeared.

"What did he-" Her voice dropped from her mouth like a stone. "Oh..." She finally struggled to say, "Hi." Johnny nodded at her, but refused to open his mouth to return the greeting.

Tenna looked from Devi to Johnny and back again. "Do you want me to stay?" she asked anxiously.

Devi shook her head. "No...I'll just call you later, okay?" Tenna didn't seem too happy about this information, but she nodded and stepped politely past them, tossing a last glance before jumping into her car and driving off.

"I had her over to watch..." Devi started, but she stopped abruptly. She didn't need to explain anything. "Bryker!" Devi screamed, before turning to Johnny and muttering, "he's got your hate for sleep. Thanks a lot...he's a real joy around 2:35 in the morning." Johnny grinned sheepishly and scratched at the back of his neck.

"BRYKER!" Devi called again, impatience and dread ebbing at her tone.

"Coming, mama!" Johnny froze at the sound of the high-pitched airy voice that floated back down the stairs. There was a steady thunk of a child stomping down the staircase and suddenly Bryker appeared at the foot of it. "What is it?" Bryker asked, stealing a glance at the strange man beside her.

"Bryker...I'd like you to meet Johnny." There was a long pause that was slowly cutting through the air like a knife trying to cut through a coffee can. "He's your father." Silence again clogged their ears. After a brief eternity, Bryker opened his mouth.

"Bub told me you'd look like me." Johnny smiled. Bryker wasn't ashamed of him as a father. He didn't hate him. But then again, Johnny didn't think he knew what he'd done in the past. Devi scowled, never really a fan of conversations concerning Bryker's looks.

Johnny struggled to find some words in his throat. "Er...so, Bryker..." he started, but fell silent again. Bryker shuffled his foot a bit, and then blurted out,

"Do you kill people?"

Johnny went rigid. He did know. Without thinking, the word spilled out of his mouth like water from a faucet. "Yes." Devi twitched slightly, as if she refrained herself from slapping him. Bryker nodded calmly, as if he'd said yes to a question like 'do you like chocolate cream pie?'

Bryker looked at his feet and then up again. "Would you kill me or mommy?" He asked, his voice still even.

Johnny was silent for a moment. "I...I have to go." He grumbled finally, turning towards the door.

Bryker stopped him. "Would you kill me or mommy?" He repeated, slightly louder this time. Johnny turned to face him, his eyes lingering on Devi for a moment.

"No." He answered shortly, before turning back around and disappearing out the front door. Devi looked piercingly at Bryker, who grinned confidently.

"Told you." He shot at Bub, who lay idly on his side near the stairs. Devi watched the door for a moment, thoughts racing through her head like Nascar drivers.

"Nny! Wait!" She screamed, flying to catch up with his long strides. Johnny slowed and finally came to a halt about ten yards from her house. "Johnny..." Devi whispered under her breath, not exactly knowing why she stopped him. "Don't...you don't have to go...you can...you need to bond with your son."

Johnny felt a smile dance on his face. His son. That sounded so perfect. He nodded his head and followed her back inside. Bryker was beaming when they appeared through the door. "I knew it." He sang buoyantly, dancing around the doorway.

Devi rolled her eyes. "Why don't you two...talk. Johnny, you want anything?" She asked, pointing towards the kitchen.

Johnny nodded. "Something to erm...drink would be nice." He responded, sitting on the dirty overstuffed couch next to Bryker, who was bouncing giddily up and down on a puffy cushion. Devi disappeared into the kitchen and Johnny decided to start a conversation. "So, kid. What is it you're interested in?"

Bryker exploded into an extensive reply, describing every detail of everything he'd ever liked. Who knew the background information of a five- year-old would be so complex? Johnny thought to himself as he listened to Bryker's love for books starting in Devi's old bookstore.

"Does Devi still work at Dragon's?" Johnny asked, trying to sound nonchalant about it, but Bryker grinned at him slyly. Johnny knew that smile all too well-he'd used it his whole life. "I'm just curious." He explained, his eyes narrowing.

Bryker nodded. "Uh huh...sure." He grumbled sarcastically before adding, "She's gone back to working there since she quit her art job at Nerve...I wasn't around then-but she does it during the morning when she's not afraid to go outside."

Johnny lowered his head ruefully. "She's afraid to go out at night?"

Bryker nodded again. "Yeah...usually. Tonight was the first time in months...she told me she's gotten better. Before I was born, she said she should stay in all day and night. Ten finally got her to go to this party and that's when..."

Bryker looked suggestively at his father, whose eyes widened. "She told you when you were conceived?"

Instead of asking what 'conceived' meant, Bryker nodded his head again. Johnny's jaw hung loosely as if it were on a hinge. "You're...you're very- erm...literate for a five-year-old, you know?" He finally sputtered.

Bryker snickered. "Mama always said I got it from you. I mean...she never said your name-I don't even know if she wanted me to hear...but her favorite phrase was 'You and your father...'" Bryker tried his best impression of an exasperated Devi, giggling to himself.


	6. Chapter V

Glass and Roses

DISCLAIMER: I do not own JTHM or any of its characters. I do not own Jhonen Vasquez. I do not own anything.

CHAPTER V

Devi entered the room with two bottles of coke and a glass of milk. Handing the milk to Bryker, who slurped it down, she set the glass bottles down on the table. Johnny scooped it up, looking it over before drawing a long swig from it. Devi watched him closely for a minute, then took a drink from her own glass.

Bryker's coy smile was back on his face. "I...gotta go fix something in my room. It was nice to meet you, dad." That's when the whole picture hit him. Johnny's back stiffened. Dad? He'd never thought of himself as a dad type. For some reason thinking of himself as Bryker's dad seemed much more serious than Bryker as his son.

"Dad?" He whispered breathlessly, too shocked to blink.

Devi snickered. "Yeah. First time he called me 'mama' was a bit of a scare. Don't worry. It doesn't mean you're old."

Johnny tried to smile, but it wavered almost immediately. Dad? He couldn't be a dad. He hadn't acted the dad role for the past five years-and he suddenly wanted to. Was it because he wanted to make a better impression than his dad ever did, or was it just to get close to Devi? He glanced over to her-desperate to prove the latter wrong, but seeing her watching him with a shimmering glass bottle to her full red lips made him wonder.

"I miss you Devi." Silence greeted this outburst. Devi didn't seem surprised, scared or upset by this news. She simply set down her drink and folded her hands in her lap.

There was another moment of quiet, and Johnny was about to continue when Devi whispered, "I miss you too, Johnny, but..." Her voice trailed off as if it were a butterfly that she let go. Johnny shook his head. He knew what she was going to say, but he didn't want her to say it. "But I can't help but wonder if you're ever going to go back to-" She cut herself off and made a violent gesture with her hands.

Johnny lowered his gaze. "No." He whispered emotionlessly.

Devi continued seamlessly, "And it scares me, ya know? Now that I have a kid...I can't trust- "

"I understand." He interrupted, almost coldly, squeezing his eyes shut, "And I'm truly sorry. I want to give it all another shot. You and Bryker. I- I know you probably won't approve of it all, but I...I really want to try."

Devi said nothing. "Honestly? No weapons?"

Johnny shook his head. "No..." He closed his eyes, seething to himself "No weapons." This was obviously hard for him.

There was quiet for a moment and then Johnny said unexpectedly, "I'm still so sorry for-for that night...I shouldn't have had so much to drink...I wouldn't have done it if-" He shuddered and shut his eyes. "If I'd known..."

"That I was so drunk I didn't remember my own name?" Devi smirked. Johnny said nothing, tears weighted down his eyelashes. "Johnny, don't..." Devi said calmly, reaching out to touch his face. Johnny shrunk back quickly. He was obviously regressing back to never wanting to be touched again. Devi sighed and dropped her hand. "Johnny...you weren't exactly sober either, you know. It...it took a long time for me to realize this, but it's nobody's fault. Not yours...not mine, not the bartender's."

Johnny remained silent. "Look, Johnny, stay here tonight, okay?" Johnny looked up sharply, but didn't face her. Devi continued in a concerned tone, "I'll sleep on the couch and you can take the bed..."

Johnny shook his head, getting to his feet. "No...no I should go."

Devi grabbed his hand, deliberately ignoring his wince as if she'd sliced it off. "No. Stay on the fucking couch if you're not going to sleep, but stay, alright?" Johnny cleared his throat but was quiet. Devi's glare bored into him. Johnny let his gaze drop to his steel-toed boots.

"Okay," he agreed, "I'll stay here."

Devi's glare softened and she let go of his hand. "Good. ' Night, Johnny C." She muttered, getting up and walking up the stairs to her room without another word. Johnny stood, petrified, in front of the couch for almost ten minutes.

"Good night, Devi." He finally whispered, sitting back on the sofa and watching the staircase in stunned silence. "I know you're there, Bryker." He finally whispered, remaining absolutely stationary.

There was a groan. "Sorry, dad." A smile flickered on Johnny's lips. After the shock wore off, it didn't sound so bad.

"Go to bed, Bryker." He grunted. He heard small footsteps drag down the hall and saw a flash of purple disappear though the door at the end of the corridor.

There was another half-hour of silence when Johnny heard a sharp cry. His ears perked up. "Devi?" Utter stillness greeted him. "Devi, are you awake?" He stood up and climbed up the stairs to her door, leaning close to it, listening in. A long hush, followed by a sharp, loud whimper. Without thinking, he threw the door open and stepped inside.

Devi laid restlessly on the bed, struggling around the sheets nosily in her sleep. Johnny watched her motionlessly as she rolled from side to side of her bed in sleep-induced angst. He opened his mouth to wake her, but shut it again.

"She does this sometimes."

Johnny wheeled around, seeing the soft shadow of Bryker in the doorway. "She...what?"

Bryker nodded. "She has nightmares, still...she gets kind of loud sometimes. It's a good thing I don't sleep often." Johnny smiled, but it faded almost immediately.

"Are they about...are they about me?"

Bryker shrugged. "I dunno. We don't talk about them. I'm not sure she even realizes I hear her at night."

There was a moment of silence and Johnny finally murmured, "Could you...hold on a minute, Bryker? I'll be with you in just a...just a second."

Bryker's white teeth shone brightly in the pale moonlight. "Sure, dad. No problem." He departed instantly, a quiet whoosh of air following after him.


	7. Chapter VI

Glass and Roses

DISCLAIMER: I do not own JTHM or any of its characters. I do not own Jhonen Vasquez. I do not own anything.

CHAPTER VI

Johnny tiptoed over to Devi's bedside and stood rigidly, eyes unblinkingly on her thrashing figure. "Devi..." He whispered, extending his hand slowly, but she squeaked and turned away, scaring Johnny to draw back. He was quiet for a moment, and then he tried again. Holding his breath, Johnny held out his hand again and placed it on Devi's bare shoulder. She shivered, but stopped twisting around. Afraid to break the silence, Johnny stayed like that, his thin fingers wrapped tenderly around her arm, his legs locked with fear.

"I'm so sorry, Devi." He finally choked, "For everything I'd ever done to you." Tentatively, he bowed down, his face inches from hers, his voice caught waveringly in his throat. "Please forgive me." He looked away from her face and took a step back. She seemed as if her nightmare had passed for the night, but Johnny was still afraid to leave her side. He stood as still as a statue, watching her dolefully until bright gold fingers of light caressed the room.

In a sort of rushed panic at the realization of the morning, he bolted from the room and flung himself onto the couch. He groped at a nearby book on the coffee table and flipped through it, trying to look as if he'd been there all night. About thirty minutes later, Devi emerged, a dark silk robe draped gracefully over her shoulders. Johnny worked to keep his eyes on the book, which appeared to be about famous painters of former times.

"Good...morning..." she said slowly, as if taking in his nervousness, "Did you sleep?"

Johnny looked up, but quickly looked back down, wondering how silk clung so perfectly to every curve. "N-no..." After an uncomfortably quiet second, he forced himself to continue, "I was...awake." There was a snicker.

"Yeah, I'd have guessed that if you didn't sleep." She said jokingly, making Johnny fidget restlessly.

"Hey, where'd Bryke go? I figured he'd be staying up all hours with you." Devi didn't notice until after she'd said it that she'd used his nickname. She didn't bother to correct it. She was no longer afraid to let him know.

Johnny's eyes skated over Devi's figure, his lips twitching into an involuntary half-smile. "I...he should be in his room." Devi blinked slowly at him and then walked down the hallway into her son's room.

A second later she crept back into the living room. "He's asleep for once. I'm gonna let him take as much as possible. I swear. He never sleeps well. Even as a baby...god, he'd keep me up all hours...Anyway, I'm going back upstairs to paint for a while, okay? It's kind of my wake up call."

Johnny nodded, staring blankly ahead. "Johnny, what's wrong?" Johnny said nothing for a long time and then murmured, "I'm so sorry." Devi looked at him questioningly. Johnny didn't respond. He folded his hands painfully in his lap and rung them shakily, stifling something in the back of his throat.

Devi sat beside him on the couch, slowly catching on. "Johnny..." Johnny shuddered violently and shook his head. Dark tresses of hair fell over his face and shaded his eyes. Devi's fingers brushed them away, showing his eyes brimming with tears. When Johnny didn't pull away, Devi smiled. He obviously didn't mind being touched again. "Nny...I know you didn't mean anything-I'm not still mad at you." Johnny groaned and shut his eyes, still not speaking.

"Don't cry, Johnny. It happened six years ago. I'm so thankful for Bryke it hurts."

Johnny smiled to himself, opening his eyes. "Do you love him?"

Devi stared, slightly shocked. "Of course I do!" She insisted. Johnny nodded, taking in the information. Devi stared at him, expecting the point to this question. Johnny looked at her, but quickly looked away as if afraid to look her in the face.

"Is there any chance you might be able to stand his father?"

Devi was quiet. For a long time Johnny watched as the wheels turned slowly in her head, shivering with anticipation. Devi sighed, bringing him back to earth. "I think there is, Johnny." She finally admitted, getting to her feet and starting back towards her bedroom. She stopped abruptly in front of him and hesitated before leaning down and kissing him on the cheek. A second later she was up the stairs.

_I think there is, Johnny._

A chill of joy snaked up his spine. So much stress was taken off his shoulders, he no longer felt the need for that security switchblade. He smiled, lost in his own thoughts for almost twenty minutes before the voice broke through his bliss.

"So are you going to stay for good?" Johnny turned his head to see Bryker staring at him with saucer-eyes. He bit his lip.

"I...er...don't...know." He answered slowly, "I thought you were asleep." He added accusingly, not showing how thankful he was to find something to change the subject on.

Bryker grinned. "I was pretending. I saw her kiss you." Johnny tried to suppress his own smile. "Do you love her?" he asked. There was no pressure in his voice, only curiosity.

Johnny swallowed. "I...I'm going to talk to your mother." He responded, feeling his face tingle with embarrassment.

He bounded hurriedly up the stairs and rushed down the hallway. In fear of Bryker following him for an answer to his question, Johnny barreled into Devi's bedroom, forgetting to knock on the door. He would immediately regret this decision.

"MIGHTY FUCK, NNY! DON'T YOU KNOCK?" Johnny automatically turned around and faced the door. He wanted to protest-say he's seen her naked before, but this didn't seem to be the time. Instead, he stared at the wall, his cheeks a soft rose with shock.

"I'm sorry!" He rambled quickly, "I didn't think you'd...I should have knocked! I wasn't thinking! I'm sorry!"

Devi's voice evened to a calm tone. "No, no...it's okay, you can turn around now, I found my robe." Johnny prudently faced her. She looked a bit shaken, but the initial shock had worn off.

"I'm sorry," He repeated, his voice wavering slightly with the fear that he lost his chance.

"It's okay, Nny. It's alright." She was smiling, he figured she'd forgiven him. "After all," she continued, "It's not like you haven't seen me naked before." Johnny held a laugh in his throat. "I guess you just..." Her voice trailed off almost abruptly. For a long time, she was silently watching him. He waited patiently for her to finish.

"Just what?" He finally questioned, curiosity beating out his courtesy. She jumped, startled by the break in the relaxed silence.

"Oh...just...erm...surprised me..." Johnny nodded, shuffling his boot awkwardly on the carpet.

After an uncomfortably long pause, Johnny managed enough courage to sit beside her on the bed. Devi smiled warmly. "So, why'd you come in here in the first place?"

Johnny nibbled on the inside of his lip again. "To get away from the third degree back there." He muttered, pointing to the door.

Devi laughed. "Yeah, he asks a lot of questions. What did he ask you?" Johnny tasted a metallic flavour in his mouth.

"Erm...'Why is the grass green?' 'Why is the sky blue'...ya know. That kinda shit." He lied slowly. Devi laughed again.

"Try again, he doesn't ask the normal five-year-old questions." Johnny made a face.

"Why can't he?" He asked weakly, avoiding the still open question of what he asked. Devi grinned at him.

"He's not a normal kid. He's different from everybody else...just like his father." Johnny felt his face tickle with blush again. "Johnny, about your question before..." Johnny glanced at her. She was staring at him intently He gulped.

"Which question?" He asked ignorantly, thinking he already knew the answer. Devi let a smile flicker on her lips.

"Whether or not I could stand Bryker's father." She said 'Bryker's father' as if it was someone completely different. Johnny ignored this and nodded. "I think...I think I would like to give him another shot."


	8. Chapter VII

Glass and Roses

DISCLAIMER: I do not own JTHM or any of its characters. I do not own Jhonen Vasquez. I do not own anything.

CHAPTER VII

Johnny almost fainted. "You...you would?" He choked, struggling to remain on the bed, his hands spazzing violently. Devi nodded bashfully. Johnny grinned. Before he could say anything, her hand took his, caressing his thin fingers.

"I can tell already how much you love Bryker. You'd never...you'd never do anything to him."

Johnny was quiet. "I don't want to leave him up to you- but I don't want him to be like me." Devi smiled.

"I can stop that." She said, nudging him jokingly. There was a second of calm, and then Devi cleared her throat, turning his attention back to her.

"Look, it..." She bit her lip, at a loss for words. Finally, they came blurting out faster than she could stop them. "It was really hard for me to trust you, Johnny. I mean, you scare the fuck out of me. I kept thinking back to that date-but you've changed...at least I think you've changed. You seem a little more...stable. I don't know...I..." She watched him closely for a second.

"Johnny..." Her lips parted and she leaned forward, her voice a breathless whisper. "I..." She didn't finish her sentence, however. Without warning, she pressed her lips against his, her free hand wrapping around to the back of his neck. Johnny was too shocked to respond at first but then slowly draped his thin arm around her waist

They stayed like that, lost in the moment until Devi felt Johnny's hand slowly creep up her back, over her neck and coming to rest on her face. She felt his pale slender fingers brush against her cheek so softly it felt as if she were being tickled with a feather.

Without thinking, Devi sunk until she felt the cool satin sheets against her back. Johnny followed obediently, his out of control heartbeat thumping loudly against her chest. It was then she noticed how much he was shivering. She put her hand against his throbbing heart and broke the kiss.

"You're...you're scared." Devi gasped breathlessly. She meant to say it like a question, but it came out a flat statement. Johnny nodded, panting slightly. "Why?" She asked, her brow furrowing in fear of his answer.

"I'm..." he paused, catching his breath. "I'm afraid it will all happen again. I don't want you to run away." Devi shook her head.

"I...I won't. I...I want this." Even as she said it, Johnny shook his head.

"But..." Devi captured his lips in hers, cutting him off abruptly.

The kiss only lasted a second, just to get her point across. "I want this." She insisted once the kiss broke, "I really want this." Johnny peered her, as if looking for some sign of a lie. She smiled at him, stroking her fingers airily against his face. As if on cue, Johnny leaned down, drawing a breath before touching his lips to hers.

Devi had been waiting for this. For a moment she let the kiss stay sweet and simple, but then she started to tease his mouth open with her tongue. He hesitated at first, causing Devi's heart to stop. Then he parted his lips, allowing his own tongue into her mouth. Devi felt a tremor down her spine. Her hand snaked around to the back of his neck and held him closer, running her free hand down his back. Johnny shifted in ardor as he felt her soft hands slip under his shirt and warmly touch his back.

It all seemed to go by in slow motion. Devi gently slid his shirt off of him as he inexpertly pushed the silk fabric away from her neck. His hand rested on her bare shoulder, and they kissed briefly as she unzipped his pants. She felt him tense up slightly in her arms. In a move of reassurance, she took his hand off her shoulder and kissed it as well. This seemed to relax him enough to sensitively untie her robe.

Johnny's face suddenly flushed with colour. Devi snickered. "It's okay, Nny...It's okay." He slowly smiled back at her. He opened his mouth to say something, but Devi took advantage of his silence and kissed him again. Johnny kissed back, relieved for once that he didn't have say anything. He felt her fingers trace sweetly over his chest and shuddered. Devi hesitated, and then pressed her hand flat against his skin at the feel of his entrance.

A feeling deep inside the pit of her stomach started to grow, slowly at first and then much more rapidly. She felt her face burn childishly as she realized what it was. Desire. Everything flashed in front of her as if her life was nothing more than a shoebox of old photos. Pieces of her childhood zoomed past her eyes, quickly making room for slightly more recent memories, like Johnny's visit when he received the news that he was a father.

Devi took his free hand in hers and laced their fingers. Why did this feel so right when she knew how wrong it was? She tightened her grip on his palm and sighed. There was a sudden flash of normalcy, so out of place and yet it fit-as if they were two completely different people with no secrets to hide.

He was being so gentle, almost afraid-as if he were holding a wilting rose in his hands. He bit his lip for a second before leaning down and taking her lips in another kiss, his hand brushing her stomach faintly to pause for a moment over her chest before reaching the curve of her neck and settling there.

She kissed him delicately and let him lay against her chest. For a long time, they laid there contently, Devi's arms wrapped somewhat protectively around him, trying hard not to finger sympathetically at the scars that were still there. Devi suddenly felt as if she were holding on to glass. He just seemed so fragile now-she even would have thought him innocent without access to his history.

Bryker got up from the sofa and set down his old fairy tales book. He was never interested in them anyway. He had always thought them stupid and unrealistic. He walked carefully up the stairwell. He crept to his mother's bedroom door and cracked it open as quietly as possible, holding his breath.

Johnny was propped up on one elbow, brushing a strand of dark purple hair from Devi's calm sleeping face. The white satin sheets covered them like a thick cloud, warm and cool all at the same time. Johnny was whispering something softly to himself, his fingers absentmindedly tracing her jaw line. Bryker leaned forward ever so slightly to hear what he was saying.

"I love you, Devi..." his voice sounded broken. He inclined his head and touched his forehead to hers. She smiled drowsily.

"Have you been watching me this whole time?" She asked softly. Johnny nodded. Devi snickered, balancing her hand calmly on the back of his neck. "I love you too, Johnny." She'd obviously been feigning slumber long enough to hear his confession. Bryker grinned.

"Does this mean he's staying with us?" The two jumped, Devi groping insecurely for the sheets and clinging them to her already covered chest.

"Bryker! Holy fuck, you're just like your dad! Have either of you even HEARD of knocking on a bedroom door?" Johnny turned his head, his cheeks flushed. Bryker beamed.

"Does this mean he's staying with us?" He repeated. He seemed very determined for an answer.

"Bryker! Do you mind?" Bryker shut the door, his grin still plastered on his face

"Christ...I'm sorry-I...I guess I need to get a lock for...He wanders around the house when he gets too bored, and-what are you smiling at me like that for?" Johnny stroked back a strand of her purple hair.

"I dunno...You're just...I can't describe it. I just-I just feel so normal when I'm around you. I..." His voice trailed away airily, his stomach flitting with butterflies. He moved his head slightly closer to her face, his lips almost brushing hers as he continued to speak. "I just can't describe it..."

He closed the distance between them, bringing his lips to hers. Devi leaned into him, feeling his mouth open slightly and his tongue flicker cautiously against her lips. She invitingly opened her mouth bringing him closer around her. Johnny felt her hand brush against the inside of his leg and shuddered, feeling crimson burn into his face like a cigarette lighter. Devi nuzzled her head into his shoulder, feeling the blush from his neck.

"It's okay, Johnny...you don't have to be embarrassed..." She felt him nod, as if reassuring himself he was human. She kissed his neck softly, as if to kiss the blush away. Surprisingly, it worked quiet well, and the scarlet in his face faded to a dull pink.

He put a hand to her face and looked meaningfully at her. "I'll protect you." He said plainly, "I know...I'm aware of what happened last time-but now...I promise...I'll protect you, Devi. You and Bryker."

Devi nodded, feeling a girlish shiver dance over her spine. "I...I know." She answered, shocking herself at how the words came out of her mouth. She nodded again, confirming it. "I know." Johnny's eyes lit with something Devi hadn't seen since he'd last walked into the bookstore all those years ago. True Happiness.

Bryker sat at the foot of the stairs. They'd been quiet up there for long enough. They had to be dressed by now, and Bryker had left his favorite book up there from the other night-not to mention his question still needed a response.

He looked angrily at Bub. "Do you think they're done yet? I at least want to get my book." For the first time in Bryker's life, no response came from the small plastic doll. "Bub?" He asked, raising an eyebrow. The doll sat idly, not saying a word. Bryker shrugged. He must be asleep, He thought confidently.

"Mom?" Bryker called softly, ticking his knuckles almost silently against the door. There was no answer, which Bryker took as an invite to open the door. "Mom where's my..." He trailed off at the sight of his parents.

Johnny lay, sleeping for once, with a slumbering Devi draped over his bare chest. An angular arm was wrapped around her back and his face was resting in her hair, which had fanned out around them both. The sheets billowed over them like snowfall, shimmering in the sparkles of light from the window.

Bryker smiled and shut the door with a gentle click. He could get his book another time. As for his question, that was pretty well answered.

FIN

A/N: Weird, yes? Most of you are probably looking at the ending confusedly and thinking 'Whaaaaaaaaa?' If you are one of these people, please let me try to explain...

UNDERSTAND GLASS AND ROSES FOR DUMMIES:

Okay, you probably don't get the Bub thing. See, In my story, at least, Johnny's inanity was fueled by his lack of happiness. That's...at least what I gathered from 'The One That Got Away' he was all spazzy when he was happy and freaked out then...well, you know. But since Psycho D-Boy is now dead and he had no weapons with him, he was able to give in to the happiness. Understand? I hope you do. As for Bub, he was fueled by Johnny's insanity, as was Johnny's insomnia. Therefore, when Johnny was happy, it eliminated his insanity and also his sleeping disorder and Bub's voice. Thus, the ending consisted of him asleep with Devi in his arms and Bub falling silent to Bryker. Understand, now? With my luck, I probably made it more confusing. If this is the case, ignore this message and say 'Aww. That was a sweet story.' (also compatible: 'damn, that story sucked ass.' Or 'This story just isn't my style') If by some miracle, I made it clearer to you, Smile and say 'Oh.' Then choose one of the above comments. Bye, now.


End file.
